Tsotsi musical steals the limelight
Singing and dancing infuses the fresh tale of redemption, writes Eugene Yiga
Cape Town Opera will stage a new musical based on Athol Fugard’s novel, Tsotsi. The music is composed by singer-songwriter Zwai Bala, with lyrics by Mkhululi Mabija, and the piece is being directed by Neil Coppen and Khayelihle Dominique Gumede, with choreography by Standard Bank Young Artist award winner Sonia Radebe. "The departure point was the original literary source," says Gumede. "So, naturally, that’s the first place we went to for inspiration. There’s a lovely literary quality in the way in which he [Fugard] wrote this book. He can be self-effacing about the work at times and doesn’t feel that it’s his most successful. "But I feel that’s because he’s a playwright and always feels strongly about the narrative impulse in his plays. And this was more of a literary and psychological work, which I think is incredibly interesting." What Gumede finds fascinating about the book, first published in 1980, is its character study — "a kind of psychological unpacking of what it means to...
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